Power Stone 2
Power Stone 2 is a 3D arena fighting game developed and published by Capcom, released in 2000. It is the sequel to the original Power Stone, and features the original cast (minus the hidden characters Kraken and Valgas, who are only playable in Power Stone Collection) as well as several new characters. It is the second game in the Power Stone series. It built on the innovative gameplay introduced by its predecessor by allowing up to four players to choose from multiple characters, and use the environment around them for advantage. Gameplay There are four different modes available for the game *'1-on-1': Much like the original Power Stone, a two-character storyline game. *'Arcade': A four-character storyline game, with two characters advancing each round. *'Original': Multiplayer mode, with free choice of characters and stages. *'Adventure': An unpredictable storyline game, where players can collect items, cards and money. Power Stone 2 offers five interactive 3-D stages to begin with, plus the two boss stages which players can also access in Original mode. All but the Original mode is played out like a storyline, where two battles are fought on the regular stages, followed by the Pharaoh Walker boss, then another battle, and ending with the Dr. Erode boss stage. Three extra stages may be unlocked for Original mode by meeting certain requirements in Arcade mode, as well as a desert area stage, which is essentially the Pharaoh Walker boss stage, but without the boss. Though each player has their own set of default ground and air attacks, the character can execute more powerful fusion attacks after collecting three Power Stones and transforming. Power Stone 2 does not offer an opportunity to block, although tapping on the control pad just before an enemy attacks will cause you to dodge. Most of the stages are dynamic and will change as the battle progresses. For example, the airplane stage starts out on a warplane. After a set amount of time, the plane will fall apart, forcing all the players to battle while skydiving toward the ground. Shortly after, the players will fall onto a floating platform, where the remainder of the battle will be held. This, in essence, creates three sub-stages within a single one. Each stage is also littered with item boxes, which hold a random item that a player has acquired and unlocked in Adventure mode or created in the Item Shop. They may also contain Power Stones. Items are extremely diverse. Damaging items range from guns, flamethrowers, gigantic hammers, a wide assortment of swords, to bear traps, roller blades, and even a magazine that can be thrown. Non-damaging items include food that will replenish health, shields for defense, elixirs for invisibility, adhesive sprays to slow your opponents, and wings for extra jumps. Cards that can be used to mix items can also be found in Adventure mode. Furthermore, most stages also have their own collection of unique items and fixtures that the player can use. For example, the submarine level comes with turrets, small planes to drop bombs, and icebergs to throw at opponents. Each level is also highly interactive, as players can use many of the stage elements themselves. All players can also gain extra height by jumping off a wall. Item Shop An addition to Power Stone 2 is the "Adventure" mode. This mode is functionally identical to the "1-on-1" and "Arcade" modes; however, there is an additional inventory filled with items and money that the player has collected. These may then be taken to the game's "Item Shop", run by secret character Mel. The overall goal of the Item Shop is to allow players to gain access to new items; either by purchasing them, or by combining existing items in a 'mixing' process. This gives the game considerable additional longevity, as many of the best or most entertaining items are available only from the Item Shop. Power Stone 2 includes a VMU application called the Mini-Book. This can be used to inspect the player's item inventory, or trade items with another player. Additionally, a player may register up to five items in their inventory as "Handy Items". These may then appear to the player in Original mode, offering a tactical advantage. Characters Reception The Dreamcast version received "favorable" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.http://www.metacritic.com/game/dreamcast/power-stone-2 In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 31 out of 40.cite journal |title=ドリームキャスト - パワーストーン2 |magazine=Famitsu |volume=915 |date=30 June 2006 |page=51 Credits Producer: Noritaka Funamizu, Yoshihiro Sudo Character Design: Akiman Director: Hideaki Itsuno Planner: Eiichiro Sasaki Programming: Masakazu Matsushita, Yoshiyuki Ishikawa Modelling: Masao Sakurai, Hidetoshi Kai, Shinya Kitamura Art Director: Shinya Kuwajima Sound: Tetsuya Shibata, Wataru Hachisako ---- Dreamcast Version Director: Hideaki Itsuno Planner: Eiichiro Sasaki, Nakano Tau Masahiro, Koji Shimizu, Takechan Programming: Masakazu Matsushita, Yoshiyuki Ishikawa, Yukikaze Okagawa, Hitoshi Yokota, Mikky, Omake 3, Senor, K.Akiyama, Tomohiro Ueno, Batayon, Yoji Mikami, Kobuta, M&Y.Inada Ine Team Server Side: Kaz Yunde, Mineyuki Noda, Kentaro Kaneko Object Model Team: Masao Sakurai, Satomi♥Tsubota, Saori・Bando Motion Team: Hidetoshi Kai, Shinya,Kitamura..., Tsunenori Shirahama Motion Capture Team: Naoki Fukushima, Shinya Miyamoto, Masanori Kondo, HR Tsuru, Yugen, Masaki Yamanaka Item & Effect: K♥ji 315, Takaaki Ishizuka Art Designer: Shinya Kuwajima, Goro Suzuki 1999, .Kanno., Ryo Uno, Saru, Tatsushi Kuriyama Music Composer: Tetsuya Shibata Sound Designer: Wataru Hachisako, Masayoshi Umezu, Hiroshi Ohno Mixing Engineer: Kazuya Takimoto Character Design: Akiman, Hideki Original Artwork: Wsu Title Logo Design: Shoei Instruction Card: Sakomizu, M.Ru, N.Katoh Voice Actor: Sayaka Aida, Yousuke Akimoto, Akira Ishida, Ryuzaburo Ohtomo, Ayumi Kida, Charles Glover, Jurouta Kosugi, Wataru Takagi, Fujiko Takimoto, Atsushi Tanaka, Hikari Tachibana, Sakiko Tamagawa, Ryo Horikawa Special Thanks: Shin., Takeshi Tezuka, Tom Shiraiwa, Haruo Murata, Daisuke,, Motsu, Hisashi Kuramoto, Hyper Shinchan, Manatie, H.Watanabe, Soji Seta, Hironori Ojima, Keiko Harakawa, Yoshimi Sawada, Hideki Ohnuki, Erik Suzuki, Dan Okada, Chris Tang, Naomi Development Team Producer: Yoshihiro Sudo General Producer: Noritaka Funamizu Executive Producer: Yoshiki Okamoto And: All Capcom Staff Presented by: Capcom Gallery Box Art and Advertisements Image:Power Stone 2 Japan.png|''Japan'' Image:Power Stone 2 cover scan.png|''U.S.'' Image:Power Stone 2 Europe.png|''Europe'' Image:Power Stone 2 Ad.png|''Advertisement'' References External Links *Wikipedia article *''Power Stone'' wikia article *Sega Retro article Category:Games Category:Power Stone Games Category:Fighting Games Category:3D Fighting Games Category:Arcade Games Category:Dreamcast Games Category:PSP Games Category:2000 video games